Atlantic Cape salutes its sustaining sponsors

Construction is on the Horizon at Atlantic Cape

A series of building projects are in the works at Atlantic Cape’s Mays Landing, Atlantic City and Cape May Court House campuses as part of Blueprint 2020, the master plan of ongoing construction projects at the college for the next decade.

The heart of the plan is the construction of the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) building, on the Mays Landing Campus, adjacent to D building. This project marks the first new building at the campus since 1991.

STEM Building rendering.

The STEM building’s design will incorporate a palette of materials and colors that complement the colors, textures and scale of current campus buildings, while maintaining the natural quality of the campus landscape.

“The building will include a café, patio, and learning lobbies flooded with natural light,” said Dr. Richard Perniciaro, dean of facilities, planning and research.

Exterior building materials will feature brick cavity wall construction on the first floor; insulated metal panel walls on the second floor and penthouse; and glass window walls in the two-story atrium/lobby.

The building will also be home to the new Air Traffic Control degree program and Technology Studies Institute.

“The Air Traffic Control Training Center with a tower simulator, radar simulator, meteorological equipment and an astronomy platform with two telescopes will be housed in the new building, and the entire facility will be wireless with in-class technology like the Cape May County Campus,” Perniciaro said.

Designed by Burt Hill Architects, the $16 million project will receive LEED Silver certification for its “green” design, and has a projected completion date of June 2012.

Atlantic Cape’s parking lots will also “go green.” The college will enter a Power Purchase Agreement with Pepco Energy, Inc., to lease land in parking lots at its Mays Landing and Cape May County campuses to install solar arrays. The college will purchase the energy generated at a discounted rate to help power the college. The project is scheduled to be complete by September 2011.

Hospitality Studies Center rendering.

At Atlantic Cape’s Worthington Atlantic City Campus, planning is under way for the construction of a new, approximately 20,000-square-foot-building, which will provide training to fulfill the need for skilled workers for Atlantic City’s hospitality industry.

The Hospitality Studies Center for Workforce Training will train workers for the hospitality and culinary arts industries within the region. The continuing education technical training facility will include two teaching kitchens, classrooms, offices, a mock hotel room and a rooftop garden.

Funded by a grant from the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority and Atlantic County government, this $10 million project is expected to open its doors in spring 2013.

The Central Plant on the college’s Mays Landing Campus (F building) is undergoing a major upgrade this year to provide more capacity for the new STEM building, and to allow the college to eliminate its oil storage tank.